East Cape

General electorate in Bay of Plenty (formerly East Coast (renamed))

2026 General Electorate/Bay of Plenty/East Cape

Suburbs connected61 suburbs & localitiesShow ▾

Whakatāne, Kawerau, Waimana, Waingarara, Ōpōtiki, Te Hapara, Galatea, Kaiti, Ōhope, Awakeri, Murupara, Thornton, East Cape, Wainui, Whataupoko, Mangapapa, Pongakawa, Gisborne Central, Hexton, Waipaoa, Wharekaka, Ruatōria, Matatā, Waiotahe, Tokomaru, Awapuni, Makaraka, Otakiri, Te Teko Lakes, Edgecumbe, Elgin, Onepu Spring, Pukehina Beach, Manawahe, Raukumara, Cape Runaway, Outer Kaiti, Okitu, Tamarau, Maketū, Rangiuru, Centennial Crescent, Tirohanga, Ōtara, Lytton, Te Arai, Riverdale, Tokomaru Bay, Tolaga Bay, Oponae, Tāneatua, Paengaroa, Manutūkē, Te Karaka, Hicks Bay, Pātūtahi, Te Kaha, Te Teko, Minginui, Te Araroa, Ōhiwa.

Boundaries do not always follow the edge of a suburb. Wainui, Waipaoa, Tokomaru, Rangiuru, Tirohanga are split with a neighbouring electorate, so they appear on more than one page. Hover a dotted name for the share that falls here.

Built from the 2025 electorate boundaries used for the 2026 election, matched against Stats NZ statistical areas. Names are the official ones, so a very small settlement may sit inside a larger named locality rather than appear on its own. If you are unsure which electorate you are in, check your address on vote.nz.

Source: Stats NZ: 2025 electorate boundaries and 2026 statistical areas

Enrolment info89.01% enrolled · as at 31 July 2026Show ▾

Enrolled

75,519

Est. eligible

84,844

Not enrolled

9,325

Enrolment rate

89.01%

Which roll people are on

General roll 49,329(65.3%)Māori roll 26,190(34.7%)

Enrolment by age band for East Cape
Age	Est. eligible	General	Māori	Enrolled	Not enrolled	%
18 - 24	8,864	2,321	2,608	4,929	3,935	55.61%
25 - 29	6,037	2,691	2,545	5,236	801	86.73%
30 - 34	7,202	3,306	2,938	6,244	958	86.70%
35 - 39	7,229	3,721	2,616	6,337	892	87.66%
40 - 44	6,390	3,457	2,328	5,785	605	90.53%
45 - 49	6,324	3,474	2,271	5,745	579	90.84%
50 - 54	6,808	3,845	2,304	6,149	659	90.32%
55 - 59	6,854	4,288	2,102	6,390	464	93.23%
60 - 64	7,372	4,754	1,987	6,741	631	91.44%
65 - 69	6,929	5,059	1,820	6,879	50	99.28%
70+	14,835	12,413	2,671	15,084	-249	101.68%
Total	84,844	49,329	26,190	75,519	9,325	89.01%

Enrolment figures are as at 31 July 2026. The eligible population is the Electoral Commission's own estimate, so “not enrolled” is the gap between that estimate and the roll — not a count of identified people.

Some age bands show above 100% enrolled, which means the roll holds more people than the population estimate for that band. This appears in the Commission's own published table and is not an error here.

The youngest band is consistently the least enrolled: 18 - 24 sits at 55.61% here, against 89.01% across all ages.

Source: Electoral Commission: enrolment by general electorate

2023 election results(contested as East Coast)Show ▾

Electorate (candidate) votes, 14 October 2023. Winner: Dana Kirkpatrick (National), majority 3,199.

Dana KirkpatrickNational17,007 (43.1%)
Tāmati CoffeyLabour13,808 (35.0%)
Craig SinclairNZ First2,517 (6.4%)
Michael HoweACT1,923 (4.9%)
Jordan WalkerGreen Party1,765 (4.5%)
Fallyn FlavellTe Pāti Māori1,235 (3.1%)
Chris RobinsonDNZ625 (1.6%)
Leighton PackerVision NZ323 (0.8%)
Don RichardsIndependent104 (0.3%)
Monaco CaracasIndependent68 (0.2%)
Gordon DicksonIndependent66 (0.2%)

Source: Electoral Commission (electionresults.govt.nz). Electorate (candidate) vote only; party vote not shown.

Current MP for East Cape

Dana Kirkpatrick

Current MP

National

FromGisborne

About

Communications professional and former journalist, ex-CEO of Equestrian Sports NZ, MP since 2023.

Focus

Major infrastructure focus: $75M Waioeka Gorge stabilisation, $69M Pekatahi Bridge replacement, $50M SH35 works, $132M flood recovery funding, increased Police in Opotiki, and new school redevelopments.

View profile on party website